It's a case that CAID is watching very closely. Anne Adams, a former prosecutor is in the midst of a legal battle of her own...charged with aggravated DWI. She appears to be getting special treatment by our local courts.
Let's go back to all this started...
At the beginning of September, Adams, 46, was arrested by Hamburg police after she was stopped and on Route 5 in Hamburg. When police stopped her red Ford Thunderbird convertible (it was weaving from lane to lane and nearly struck a guardrail), she failed all four roadside sobriety tests and her BAC registered at 0.19 percent. She pleaded not guilty during her arraignment.
Two weeks ago, during her last court appearance, Adams' defense attorney and former Leonard Krawczyk said that Erie County District Attorney Frank Clark broke a “gentlemen’s agreement” in the case by leaking witnesses’ affidavits contained in a defense motion to get the case quickly dismissed. Meanwhile, Clark said he didn't break the agreement, saying he made the affidavits public at the arraignment. "They thought they would get this done under the radar, get it disposed of quickly and walk away. That’s not the way it’s done.”
This has definitely not been your typical DWI court case. A State Supreme Court justice, a police lieutenant and a doctor all filed legal papers saying Adams wasn’t drunk that night, and on the opposite side of the courtroom, three district attorneys were in the Hamburg courtroom, and Adams’ case was handled by two prosecutors who do not normally handle misdemeanor charges there.
Adams claims she had two glasses of wine and a water with lime at Shanghai Red's restaurant that night.
Here's a link to The Buffalo News report on Adams' most recent court appearance.
What are my thoughts on this case? I feel that if Adams did indeed drive drunk that night, she should be penalized like anyone else who's convicted of DWI. She doesn't deserve special treatment, and her case should not be treated any differently.
We'll be following this case, and what happens in the courtroom and we'll keep you updated.
Deanna
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
CAID Fall Update: Reaching out to Teens
Here's an update on what CAID has been up to in recent weeks...we're reaching out to teens in unique ways.
I've been working on an interesting project that will share Karen's story with more students in our area. Denis Foley is curator of "Friends Exhibit/Last Call" at the Lewis Henry Morgan Institute at the SUNY Institute of Technology in Albany. "Friends" is a traveling exhibition. Its funding is provided through the Governor's Traffic Safety Council, New York State Stop DWI Coordinators' Foundation, The Sheldon & Ruth Goldstein Foundation and the New York State Press Association Foundation.
So what is it? Here's a description taken from the Friends website:
The exhibition focuses on the lives of the victims prior to the crash, emphasizing individual histories through photos, possessions, interviews of victims’ friends and families, and audio and visual recordings. A timeline traces the events of the victims’ last day, including a detailed account of the crash itself. Along with the text of the timeline, quotes and artifacts that pertain to the crash are part of this section. The aftermath that the families, friends, police and community were left with is included as well. The combination of these elements creates an emotional reaction in observers, with the goal of behavioral change. This approach creates a powerful message that may deter students from driving after consuming alcohol.
The exhibit featuring Karen's story will travel to high schools across the county and it's going to be very impacting. I spoke with Denis about in depth about what type of person Karen was and what exactly happened on Friday night, March 6. It will include the things that meant the most to her and really defined what type of person she was. It'll also have letters, newspaper clippings, and the timeline of the crash. As always, we don't expect all teens to be impacted by this exhibit, but if one girl or guy takes a look at the exhibit and makes the choice not to drink and drive, then it'll be worth it.
STOP DWI and CAID are also working on producing a video PSA that will be distributed to all schools to use as part of their morning announcements. This will give students a weekly report of arrests, crashes, and incidents tied to drinking and driving in Erie County and how lives are impacted. We're also working on a video contest with Fox 29 where teens will be able to produce their own anti-DWI video PSA. We'll keep you posted on these projects as they develop.
The mission of CAID is to educate and we're moving full steam ahead in that mission and hopefully we'll save lives in the process.
Deanna
I've been working on an interesting project that will share Karen's story with more students in our area. Denis Foley is curator of "Friends Exhibit/Last Call" at the Lewis Henry Morgan Institute at the SUNY Institute of Technology in Albany. "Friends" is a traveling exhibition. Its funding is provided through the Governor's Traffic Safety Council, New York State Stop DWI Coordinators' Foundation, The Sheldon & Ruth Goldstein Foundation and the New York State Press Association Foundation.
So what is it? Here's a description taken from the Friends website:
The exhibition focuses on the lives of the victims prior to the crash, emphasizing individual histories through photos, possessions, interviews of victims’ friends and families, and audio and visual recordings. A timeline traces the events of the victims’ last day, including a detailed account of the crash itself. Along with the text of the timeline, quotes and artifacts that pertain to the crash are part of this section. The aftermath that the families, friends, police and community were left with is included as well. The combination of these elements creates an emotional reaction in observers, with the goal of behavioral change. This approach creates a powerful message that may deter students from driving after consuming alcohol.
The exhibit featuring Karen's story will travel to high schools across the county and it's going to be very impacting. I spoke with Denis about in depth about what type of person Karen was and what exactly happened on Friday night, March 6. It will include the things that meant the most to her and really defined what type of person she was. It'll also have letters, newspaper clippings, and the timeline of the crash. As always, we don't expect all teens to be impacted by this exhibit, but if one girl or guy takes a look at the exhibit and makes the choice not to drink and drive, then it'll be worth it.
STOP DWI and CAID are also working on producing a video PSA that will be distributed to all schools to use as part of their morning announcements. This will give students a weekly report of arrests, crashes, and incidents tied to drinking and driving in Erie County and how lives are impacted. We're also working on a video contest with Fox 29 where teens will be able to produce their own anti-DWI video PSA. We'll keep you posted on these projects as they develop.
The mission of CAID is to educate and we're moving full steam ahead in that mission and hopefully we'll save lives in the process.
Deanna
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Kids Call Cops on Drunk Parents
It's a story that has me shaking my head in wonder...kids really are amazing. Even when their parents make stupid decisions, the youngest of children make the smart choices.
Check out this video and you'll see what I mean.
So what should happen to the drunk mom who tried to force her son to blow into the interlock device? How about public humiliation - like putting her name and picture on a billboard? How about taking her car away from her once and for all? That doesn't stop some people. The drunk driver who killed my sister wasn't even driving his car. Some people should not be driving at all.
Bad choices, it's what costs lives. Lives like my sister.
Kudos to kids and teens who make smart choices and call 911 when they witness their parents drinking and driving. Just goes to prove how kids are sometimes smarter than their moms and dads.
Deanna
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